The Mage's Acceleration
by The Chthonic Professor
Summary: Fukumaokami Wakawakashidesu is a transfer student from Canada. Why is he so interesting to the Nega Nebulus group? And what does Asato Ruka have to do with all of this?


**_A Mage's Acceleration_**

 ** _The Chthonic Professor_**

 ** _Summary:_** _Fukumaokami Wakawakashidesu is a transfer student from Canada. Why is he so interesting to the Nega Nebulus group? And what does Asato Ruka have to do with all of this?_

 _-.-_

 ** _Chapter One - Goldenrod Magus_**

 _-.-_

She knew it was wrong. After all, Haru had captured her heart with the intensity of his own, but she couldn't help it anyway. This foreigner looked nothing like any boy she had ever seen before.

His thick dark brown hair with his bangs swept to the side, long enough to brush across the tops of his shoulders as he gazed about the classroom. His piercing brown eyes, hiding intelligence, wit, and a dry sense of humour. His body, built like an athlete, made the school uniform look like it belonged on a professional model.

This boy didn't look like he belonged among a bunch of junior-high seniors, not when his chin was already sporting the beginnings of a goatee.

This boy was beyond handsome, he was devilishly captivating. She could already see the swarms of swooning girls (and possible boys) he'd have constantly trailing behind him.

Then he spoke.

"Hello everyone, my name is Fukumaokami Wakawakashidesu. It is my pleasure to meet all of you."

She knew it was wrong… but she couldn't help it. Before she could stop herself, the giggle had escaped her lips. Oh dear. His accent was… deplorable didn't even begin to describe it. The only reason she understood any of what he'd said was because she'd already been expecting an introduction along those lines.

Instantly his eyes zeroed in on where she was sitting, and they locked gazes. Her breath hitched in her throat. _'Such intensity.'_ She thought to herself.

"It is funny, yes? My accent?" He gave her a lopsided grin, flicking his hair out of his eyes.

"Just- just a little. My apologies, Fukumaokami-san."

"No need to apologies… ah, I do not know your name." He paused at the front of the classroom, putting a finger to his chin. She couldn't help it, she laughed again.

"No need to apologize, or no need for apologies." She corrected, and she vaguely heard him repeat her under his breath before he nodded to himself. "And you may call me Kuroyukihime, Fukumaokami-san."

"Ah," He nodded, "Then I ask that you all call me Waka, or Shide, whatever you like." He bowed, and she noticed that it was a practiced flourish, making it look very natural.

The teacher placed his hand on the boy's shoulder and nodded to a seat at the back of the class. "I think that's enough as far as introductions go, Fukumaokami-kun. You can sit over there, in the seat by the door."

"Thank you, sensei."

Though neither of them knew it at the moment, they would be seeing one another far more frequently in the near future, for reasons neither of them could have anticipated.

-.-

"Haru-kun!" She waved at the shorter (and far rounder) boy across the cafeteria.

"Oh, senpai!" He waved back at her with one hand while the other occupied itself, tapping away at something she couldn't see. She walked up to where he was sitting, and took her seat across from him.

"What are you up to, Haru-kun?"

"Ah, I was actually going to connect to the local network. I haven't used my wings in a little while, so I want to make sure they're functioning properly." He paused and looked down at the table, but his eyes clearly weren't seeing what was in front of him. Kuroyukihime almost wanted to sigh. The situation with Dusk Taker was finally over, but the effects it had on Haru were lingering. In fact, the situation had left a sour taste in everyone's mouth, Taku and Chiyu included.

"I'll link with you then, Haru-kun." He shook himself from his stupor and looked up at her. "Are you sure, senpai? You don't have to…"

"I'm sure, Haru-kun." She reached out and grasped his hand in hers. "On three," She said, "One… two… three!"

"Burst Link!"

…

"Eh?"

"Eh!"

"Senpai, I'm not seeing things, am I?" Haru shook his head, unable to understand what was in front of him.

"There's… another name on the list of Burst Linkers…" Kuroyukihime muttered.

"There's another Burst Linker at school?!" The two of them shouted at the same time.

"Who the heck is **Goldenrod** **Magus**?!"

-.-

Later that day, Haru had finally returned home with a lot on his mind when he heard his mother call his name from her room.

"Haru-chan? Is that you?"

"Mom! You're back from your trip!" Haru slipped off his shoes and trotted into the kitchen.

"Haru-chan, why don't you go and wash up? We're expecting a guest tonight." His mother called from her room.

"A guest?" Haru muttered to himself. "Is it one of your associates from work again, mama?" He questioned, setting down his bag beside the table and heading for the fridge.

"No, it's not work-related this time, Haru-chan. A cousin of mine recently moved to Japan and transferred to a school in the Suginami area, so I offered him a place to stay." His mother emerged from her room with a towel wrapped around her head.

"A… place to stay." Repeated Haru. It took him a moment to register just what his mother was telling him. "Wait, someone's going to be staying in our house?" His mother gave him an odd look.

"Yes, Haru-chan. He's going to be living with us until he completes his studies." She leaned over Haru to open the freezer, grabbing one of the unopened frozen pizza packages.

Just then, the doorbell buzzed. His mother dropped the pizza in surprise, and her hands instantly went to the towel wrapped around her head.

"Ah! He's here early! Haru-chan, get the door, will you?" His mother rushed back into her room, leaving Haru alone to confront this crazy situation. He sighed and hung his head, picked up the pizza and put it away, and plodded his way over to the door.

Haru wasn't quite sure what it was that he'd been expecting to see when he opened the front door, but it definitely wasn't this.

"Hello. This is the Arita home, yes?"

Standing in front of Haru was a young man with the beginnings of a goatee, thick, dark brown hair like the kind you see on western pop stars, and the body of an athlete. He had the Umesato Junior High jacket slung over his left shoulder, his tie was loosened, the top two buttons of his white shirt were undone, and he had a… bag of groceries in his right hand?

"Eh… yes, it is."

The two of them stood in awkward silence for a moment, when Haru's mother suddenly came to the rescue.

"You must be Wakawakashidesu-kun, then. Come in, come in, Haru and I are delighted to have you." She said, walking around the corner into the entry hallway. "You're a little earlier than I expected, so I don't quite have dinner ready yet…" She trailed off, just now noticing the groceries in his hand.

"Thank you greatly, Arita-san." He bowed deeply, but when he stood straight again he was smiling. "I think it is good that dinner is not ready yet. My mother said to me that you were away for a week, so I had thought I would cook dinner tonight as thank you." And he shook the plastic bag in his hand a little.

"Oh my. Well, thank you very much, Wakawakashidesu-kun, that would be very much appreciated."

Somehow, the boy's smile only seemed to get wider.

-.-

"Wow, Wakawakashidesu-kun, this is incredible!" Haru's mother exclaimed, digging into the dish set before her with gusto. It wasn't long before Haru was following suit.

"Please, call me Waka or Shide. And thank you, Arita-san." He blushed a little, slowly digging into his own plate of spaghetti al dente.

"Well then, your cooking is very good, Shide-kun." There was a moment of silence as the three of them tried to grasp at a conversation starter, when Haru's mother spoke up once more. "Shide-kun, I have to say I was slightly startled by your appearance. You mother did tell me you were fifteen, after all."

Haru nearly choked on his spaghetti. Fifteen? There was no way this guy was-

"Hai, I am fifteen. I hit a big growth spurt when I turn fourteen. I was tiny and skinny, like this," He said as he picked up a stray noodle from his plate and wiggled it around.

Haru let out the most undignified snort right into his plate of pasta, which only helped set off his explosion of giggles more quickly. Shide was laughing along with him, but he leaned forwards with a smile on his face and the noodle still clutched between his thumb and forefinger.

"It's true, I tell you. You are fourteen, yes? I think you will be tall like me in no time, you will see!"

When the two of them had stopped giggling like little kids, Haru's mother asked Shide another question.

"So, Shide-kun, you're from the west, right?" She said, while simultaneously helping herself to another plate of pasta.

"The west?" Repeated Haru, "You're from America?"

"No, no," Shide shook his head, "I was birthed in Canada, in city Montreal."

"You were born in Canada, in the city of Montreal, Shide-kun?" Said Haru's mother. Shide realized the correction for what it was, and blushed.

"Ah, I am sorry. I have only been learning Japanese for one week, so it is not good yet."

Both Haru and his mother stopped eating to stare at Shide in surprise. "One week?" Exclaimed Haru's mother, "Your Japanese is fantastic for someone who's only been learning the language for a week!"

Shide blushed again. "Ah, you see, I am used to learning language, so it is not too hard for me to learn." Haru wasn't too sure, but he thought he caught Shide muttering something about Anime as well.

"What other languages do you know besides for Japanese, Shide-kun?" Haru's mother asked.

"Ah, well," He sat back in his seat and began ticking off his fingers, "English is my… my… ah…"

"Mother tongue?" Haru's mother suggested helpfully.

"Ah! Yes! English is my mother tongue, but I also know Italian, because of grandparents." He ticked off two fingers, "But I was born in Montreal, so I know French also," Another finger ticked off, "Then when I had five years old, my dad moved the whole family to Switzerland, where I learn German," A fourth finger, "Then we head back to Canada when I had nine years old and I learn Spanish in school," Five fingers, "And I start to learn Latin from dad, because I find it in-ter-es-ting." That was six, plus now that he was learning Japanese, that would make it seven languages. "So, I know seven languages."

The kitchen went quiet, and Shide took in the open-mouthed expressions of the table's two other occupants, and blushed once more.

"Wow, Shide-kun, you're pretty amazing, aren't you?" Haru's mother said with a slight tone of awe in her voice. Haru, however, pieced something rather interesting together.

"Wait, Shide-kun, if you were born in Canada, and your grandparents are Italian… why do you have a Japanese name?" He said, looking at the bigger boy questioningly. Shide smiled openly at Haru.

"Ah, you see, I had a friend in school who was born in Korea. His name was Minsu Jun, but he always said his name was Darren. When I ask him why, he said 'Darren' was his 'english name'." Shide put his elbows on the table and leaned forwards,"I always found it interesting that people make their name 'english', so I thought, 'I will make my name Japanese."

"My first name is Italian, it is Giuliano, meaning 'Youthful', so Wakawakashidesu is my 'Japanese' name. My family name is Luponio, which is Latin, Lupo meaning 'Wolf', and Poni meaning 'Included', so 'Included Wolf', making my 'Japanese' name Fukuma Okami, or Fukumaokami.'

The three of them sat in silence as Haru and his mother let that thought sink in.

"That's…" Haru eventually spoke up, "… really cool, Shide-san." Shide beamed at Haru before returning his attention to his plate of pasta.

Haru couldn't stop smiling into his own plate. For some reason, he had a feeling that the next couple of months were going to be some of the best of his life.

-.-

 ** _AN:_** _My first Accel World story, I don't exactly have a concrete plan with this one, but I rather like what I have so far, so who knows where this could go?_

 _The Chthonic Professor, signing off!_


End file.
